I recently had the chance to bake for some folks who were working in New York, away from their homes in Atlanta and San Francisco. I used to have a job that required constant travel, and no matter how cool the city, it’s tough to stave off homesickness. (I also know some survival tips for lost baggage and living out of a mini fridge, but that is another thing). So I tried to stuff some SF and ATL love into cupcake form. Here’s what we came up with:

San Francisco: Chocolate cake with Anchor Steam Porter and Ghirardelli cocoa, Peet’s espresso buttercream, and chocolate-covered espresso beans.

Atlanta: Fresh peach cake with spiced bourbon buttercream, homemade peach preserves, and a cobbler biscuit.